WestWords Varuna Emerging Writers Residency
Emerging writers from diverse backgrounds living in Western Sydney are invited to apply for a week-long residential fellowship at Varuna, supported by WestWords mentors.
Applications will open in early 2025.
Dates: 15 - 22 September 2025.
Places: Four writers are selected.
Who should apply: Emerging writers from Western Sydney.
FAQs: Please read the FAQs before you apply.
The WestWords Varuna Western Sydney Residential Fellowship offers four emerging writers from diverse backgrounds from Western Sydney the opportunity of a week-long residency at Varuna. Joining them will be live-in mentors who will be chosen in response to the successful candidates so that the mentorship offered is tailored to the people and their work.
The residency is limited to only four participants and will include:
A one-week residency at Varuna, with full board and accommodation including a prepared evening meal, uninterrupted time to write in your own private studio, and the companionship of your fellow writers.
One-on-one mentorship and consultation throughout the week.
The residency is intended for the development of a current project where a significant amount of work has been completed.
Please refer to Varuna’s general submission guidelines for any questions on formatting your work.
For more information about staying at Varuna, visit our Residencies page.
“What I enjoyed the most was the solitude of the place, all the while being surrounded by good company and lovely landscape. The lingering mist that week also evoked images from my boyhood and the village I grew up in back in the Lebanese Cedar mountains a world away. Varuna felt like a home.”
“A writer well-nourished in mind and body is a productive writer. I will never forget the delicious dinners, the scintillating conversations, the wonderful camaraderie, and supportive environment from my fellow writers and mentors. I will hold on to that sense of quietude, clarity, and the mental image of cherry blossoms outside my sunlit window.”
“The WestWords residency was invaluable in providing a resource I’d consider tantamount to a writer, which is genuine friendship. It was a real privilege to spend my days in the quiet, removed from the worries of everyday life, and instead, have the loudest noise in the house be our laughter in the living room every evening.”
UPCOMING COURSES, FELLOWSHIPS AND EVENTS
